Not that he gave anonymously, only that he focused on the success of the project, not wanting an ounce of the spotlight for himself. He never put his name on a building or project.

So what did it take for him to become the greatest philanthropist?

The following story perhaps gives us a clue:

Once upon a time, several years ago, a young Jewish businessman asked the philanthropist if he would be willing to meet with a group of young professionals to advise them on "how to get involved in helping the community".

"I don't believe there is such a group," he retorted.

"No, there really is," said the young man.

"I don't believe it, but if you insist, have them come here tomorrow morning."

"Umm...they have all just begun new jobs, would it be OK if we make it in one week?"

"Fine."

A week later, they show up and Mr. Philanthropist tells them, "When I was asked to meet with a group of young men who want to become activists for the Jewish community, I didn't believe that there were such men. And now that you're all here, I still don't believe it. Do you know what it means to be an activist? I'll tell you what it means. When I was your age, I bought a train ticket to Washington. I knocked on the door of every single senator. I had the door slammed in my face dozens of times. Finally, one was willing to talk to me.

"I didn't wait for someone to help me become an activist. I didn't wait for someone to tell me what to do. I went out and did it. If you're serious, you don't need me or my advice."

The philanthropist's name was Zev Wolfson.

He was Israel's biggest advocate before there was AIPAC. Through tireless effort, he had the ear of senators and congressmen, members of Kenesset and many others.

One of many anecdotes told:

During the first Gulf War, Wolfson invited Senator Inouye out on his boat, which he used almost exclusively for entertaining politicians or officials he felt it important to impress. He asked Senator Inouye if there was not anything in the American arsenal to protect Israel from the Iraqi Scud missiles. The senator told him about the Patriot missile batteries. If so, Wolfson asked, why hadn’t the United States supplied Israel with the Patriots?

Senator Inouye replied that Israel must not have sought them. Zev immediately got on the yacht’s phone and called then-defense minister Yitzchak Rabin to relay the message. The next day’s New York Times headline read, “US to supply Patriots to Israel.” The last paragraph explained that the decision had been taken after a meeting between “US officials and Jewish leaders.”

He wielded similar influence in the power centers of Israel and even France. Senator Trent Lott was of the opinion that Wolfson's success at lobbying came from his pure, selfless passion, never seeking anything for himself. While he did help politicians raise funds, he was not a mega-donor to their campaigns. He did phone them up late at night and early in the morning. He shunned honor and chased results.

He built or persuaded others to build Jewish schools all over the world, including North and South America, Israel, France and the FSU.

Yet he despite his yacht and prime real estate in lower Manhattan, he personally lived simply, with a "child-friendly" home for his many children and grandchildren, some of whom learned from friends that their own family was wealthy.

Think of the walk-of-shame past the first class seats boarding an airplane, which the average person endures because we know that one day we'll surely be able to fly first class too. "The poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires" (Steinbeck). Wolfson flew economy because First Class was an unnecessary luxury to him. His wealth was for public service, not for indulgence.

I haven't told you the half of the amazing things Zev Wolfson accomplished for the Jewish People and the world. Yet he always said, "There's nothing special about me. If I could do it, so could you." Something to contemplate approaching Rosh Hashana?

The greatness of the book is its understanding how setting the right tone on the very first day of school makes all the difference in classroom management. Do your kids/grandkids/nieces/nephews/neighbors a favor and get a copy to each of their teachers.

Another tool that few teachers are aware of but should be is this remarkable new approach to classroom management. You have to see it to get it:

Did you know: The Jewish People invented the concept of compulsory public-supported education nearly 2,000 years ago? It had been the responsibility of every parent to teach their own children, but the rabbis observed that orphans were not being educated, so they instituted a new rule - everyone will use and support a new public school system, so that no child will be left behind. Along with this history, the Talmud gives a few rules for how to run a school, including the necessity of evaluating a teacher's effectiveness and making whatever changes needed in order for the children to learn.

Friday, August 17, 2012

In memory of Gerda Haas, who was laid to rest this week at the age of 98. See below.The purpose of this email is to provide something meaningful for Friday night dinner conversation. Please print and share.Wedding or Funeral?Here's the question of the week for your Shabbat table:If all factors were equal, would you choose to attend a wedding or a funeral?For
instance, say you had a friend getting married and another friend
sitting shiva. Keep the factors equal - they both equally would want you
to attend, they both equally would understand if you did not attend,
etc. etc.In other words, the question is what you would prefer to do for you.King Solomon asked this question some 2,900 years ago.His answer?"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting."Second question for your table: What was he thinking?(For a clue, see the source of the quotation, Ecclesiastes 7:2 - I only quoted the first half of the sentence.)

Mrs.
Gerda Haas, to whom this week's message is dedicated, made it out of
Germany with her husband and infant son just in time to save their
lives. Most of their extended family perished, but they survived, via Marseilles, Shanghai and San Francisco.

In her memory, here are two anecdotes to show you the strength of her character.

In
her 80s she had the opportunity to visit Jerusalem and of course spent
some time at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial. I saw her that evening
and she only had one thing on her mind.

On a bus with other
tourists, she overheard a German man behind her say, "Ach. I don't know
why they have such a thing. We lost a lot of people in the war too."

She
turned around and told him off in impeccable German that his people
murdered her entire family because they were Jews and how dare he speak
that way. She wasn't shocked that someone should think such a thing, but
said it took incredible chuzpa for him to say it aloud.

Another time she had surgery that required a local anesthetic to her leg but she chose to have a general anesthetic as well, but not a deep one.

Evidently
the buzzing of the surgeon's saw woke her up and seeing what was going
on she exclaimed in her German accent, "Doctor? You call yourself a
doctor? You are no doctor! You're a carpenter!"I cannot do this great life justice - she touched many, many people her her 98 years.

She is survived
by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and many friends of
all ages whom she inspired. May her memory be for a blessing.

Friday, August 03, 2012

The purpose of this email is to provide something warm and fuzzy for dinner table conversation. Please print and share.

Here we are. Deep summer.

All that we NHs (Northern Hemispherites) want to do is relax for a few minutes.

Keep your feet up. I'm not going to spoil the moment.

But I'm going to make a radical proposal, first heard in this space a year ago.
It begins with a story.

At my first summer job as a young adult there was a guy who invited everyone in the office to his "Xmas in July" party.

What made it Xmas-y was that everyone brought a present to give to a random person.

So
instead of a bunch of people drinking beer together on a summer
afternoon, it was a bunch of people drinking beer and exchanging
presents on a summer afternoon.

As I grew older and
wiser (after all, I did learn to drink wine instead of beer!) I have
learned an ancient piece of Jewish wisdom that for some reason has
little cachet, even in the most traditional Jewish families and
communities.